71,351 ▼ -5.6%
Higher than 59% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 75,551
- 2016: 71,327
- 2021: 71,351
The number of people who usually live in the area, counted on Census night.
Remote Australia · Remoteness Area
Demographics & Identity in Remote Australia
Who lives here — how many people, how old they are, and how communities identify.
A far higher proportion of people identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in Remote Australia than across the rest of the country. The area has a population of 71,351, though this number has fallen by about 4,200 people since 2011. It remains a relatively young region where children under 15 make up a little more of the population than the national figure.
71,351
▼ -5.6%
- 1–2: 3 areas
- 2–3: 0 areas
- 3–5: 0 areas
- 5–9: 0 areas
- 9–16: 2 areas
- 16–28: 1 area
- 28–50: 1 area
- 50–87: 0 areas
- 87–152: 1 area
- 152–265: 1 area
- 265–463: 1 area
- 463–808: 3 areas
- 808–1,412: 1 area
- 1,412–2,466: 0 areas
- 2,466–4,308: 4 areas
- 4,308–7,525: 2 areas
- 7,525–13,147: 4 areas
- 13,147–22,967: 2 areas
- 22,967–40,122: 1 area
- 40,122–70,092: 5 areas
- 70,092–122,448: 2 areas
- 122,448–213,911: 5 areas
- 213,911–373,695: 3 areas
- 373,695–652,831: 2 areas
- 652,831–1,140,471: 2 areas
- 1,140,471–1,992,358: 3 areas
- 1,992,358–3,480,573: 2 areas
- 3,480,573–6,080,428: 2 areas
All remoteness area areas, 2021. The marker is Remote Australia — higher than 59% of areas.
| Remote Australia | 71,351 |
|---|---|
| Australia | 25,422,788 |
Population
How many people, and the typical age.
The typical resident is 37, making the area a little younger than the Australian average. This age has crept up by two years since 2011, while the total population shrank by 5.6% over the same period.
37 yrs ▲ +5.7%
Younger than 75% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 35 yrs
- 2016: 36 yrs
- 2021: 37 yrs
Half the population is older than this age, and half younger.
Age profile
How the population splits across age groups.
Children under 15 make up 20.2% of the population, which is much higher than most similar areas. Meanwhile, the proportion of seniors aged 65 and over rose to 14.8%, though this is still a little below the national figure.
14.8% ▲ +38.5%
Lower than 58% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 10.7%
- 2016: 12.6%
- 2021: 14.8%
Share of the population aged 65 years and over.
20.2% ▼ -9.4%
Higher than 86% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 22.3%
- 2016: 21.2%
- 2021: 20.2%
Share of the population aged under 15 years.
Age structure
View on map →Remote Australia splits fairly evenly between Young adults (25–44) (27%) and Older adults (45–64) (26%), with Children (0–14) at 20%.
Identity & relationships
First Nations identity and marital status.
Indigenous identity is very strong here, with 17.2% of people identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander—far above the national figure of 3.2%. De facto relationships are also much more common than in most areas, at 16.4%.
17.2% ▲ +21.9%
Higher than 76% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 14.1%
- 2016: 15.5%
- 2021: 17.2%
Share of people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
16.4% ▲ +7.9%
Higher than 84% of remoteness area areas.
- 2011: 15.2%
- 2016: 15.8%
- 2021: 16.4%
Share of people aged 15+ who are in a de facto marriage (registered marriages excluded).
Marital status
View on map →Remote Australia splits fairly evenly between Married (42%) and Never married (42%), with Divorced at 9%.
Age & sex structure
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Remote Australia
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Demographics & Identity in Remote Australia [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ra/RA33/remote-australia/topic/demographics-identity